Cloutierville, the town where diversity is key to its appeal

CLOUTIERVILLE, LA - Carol Forsloff - Following the invitation of a writer friend, Green Heritage visited the Cloutierville fair that took place on the grounds of the elementary school in the community center of the town and saw again what is meant by diversity in action.

Cloutierville is approximately 25 miles from Natchitoches, Louisiana, a sleepy village with a tall history,  of significant events that helped form Louisiana's expansion across the country, taking place from the basis of culture formed in that place.

Some folks say Cloutierville may be older than Natchitoches, its closest town of consumer significance, since it is the Walmart shopping haven for rural folks.  That would mean a settlement older than 1714, which is the date of the Natchitoches settlement.  Since the Louisiana Purchase brought territory to the Oregon Coast for exploration, this means it brought the United States from a collection of 13 colonies to a nation of 50 states.  That is significant, making this town a special place.


The church fair at the school was like many in small towns everywhere, but with a difference.  The racial diversity is a reflection of the highlight of the American experience, something people don't accentuate in the efforts politically to reveal the differences as opposed to the best of cultural and racial coming together as takes place in this small town.

Doc Couty and his family are a case in point.  He, the "legend of music" of the area, was on hand as a DJ to entertain the crowd of people ranging in age from infancy to old folks approaching an ultimate dotage of maybe 100 years.  His wife, clearly a Creole of mixed race, appears as one of those of an exotic combination that for many includes African, Indian and European Caucasian roots.  The result is a beauty far beyond the ordinary neighborhood in much of the world.  It is an example of that coming together many speak of but that is accomplished in Cloutierville.

A trip through Louisiana must mean for visitor and resident alike a foray through this beautiful place, where God rests his hand not just on the church and the fair it had yesterday, but on the very town itself.